John Keiser was walking down North Cove Boulevard on Thursday, glancing at Whitney Manor as he passed the renovated brick building that will provide 20 apartments for the chronically homeless.

“It’s good to hear it will be helping people like me,” said Mr. Keiser, who said he lives under a nearby bridge.

“I’m chronically homeless, and I have to see a heart specialist now, too,” he said.

He recalls when the building was dilapidated, with broken windows.

“It was just run down,” said Mr. Keiser, 45. “It’s nice now.”

The apartments Mr. Keiser was admiring were created specifically for people in circumstances like his.

Unison Health on Thursday hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the manor, built in 1925, following a three-year renovation of the building.  

When Whitney Manor first opened more than a century ago, its apartments were marketed as desirable homes, Unison Health President and CEO Jeffrey DeLay said at the ceremony.

“Whitney Manor was built to be a place where people would be proud to call home,” Mr. DeLay said, quoting an advertisement that appeared in The Blade after the four-story building was constructed.

“That’s exactly what we want it to be again. We’re reopening it with the same number of apartments,” he said. 

Whitney Manor features 20 one-bedroom apartments for single adults or couples. The opening follows nearly five years of planning and work by Unison Health, Mr. DeLay said. Renovations include new major building systems, a new roof, reconfigured apartments, and new community spaces.

“I guarantee you, Unison staff did not look to get a 100-year-old building to renovate and bring it up to current building codes,” Mr. DeLay said.

Unison had been providing substance-use treatment in the building under its previous owner and had the right of first refusal if it went up for sale. When that happened, Mr. DeLay said he immediately saw the potential for its 20 apartments to help address homelessness in Lucas County.

“There was just one problem. Unison had no money to support a purchase,” he said.

He made some calls and received support from Rosalyn Clemens, chief of housing for neighborhood sustainability for the city of Toledo; Michael Hart, former executive director of the Lucas County Homelessness Board; and Ann Ebbert, president of the Cherry Street Mission.

Ms. Clemens called him to say the city had funds designated for housing and could purchase the building. Unison would then be responsible for renovation and outreach, he said.

“This project would not have happened without Ms. Clemens,” Mr. DeLay said.

In 2023, the city of Toledo bought the building for $875,000 and contributed $1.2 million for additional assistance, said Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz said. 

The mayor agreed that Ms. Clemens was crucial to getting the project going. “She’s a doer. She gets things done,” he said.

Mr. DeLay also gave credit to the Lucas County Mental Health and Recovery Services Board, which made a donation to the project to replace the windows, doors, and roof.

Lucas Metropolitan Housing, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the city of Toledo will provide funding that will help keep rent low and affordable. 

“I’m proud of the Unison Team. This is a fantastic project,” said Senghor Manns, president and chief executive officer of Lucas Metropolitan Housing.

The approximately $5 million project also received funding from the state and the Ohio Department of Behavioral Health through state appropriations. Other public and private partners included Huntington Bank, the Federal Home Loan Bank, and Unison Health.

Residents of Whitney Manor will have access to mental health and substance use treatment, work force skills training, and other supportive services directly through Unison.

Mr. DeLay said the rent will be subsidized and based on a formula, but he did not yet know what residents would pay.

As someone experiencing chronic homelessness, Mr. Keiser is among the people Whitney Manor was created to serve. He said he would like to move into one of the apartments.

“I have no place else to go other than under the bridge,” said Mr. Keiser, who is a former contractor. 

Unison spokesman Sarah Bednarski said the organization plans to reach out to Mr. Keiser soon.

COLUMBUS — Ohio’s civil penalties for gas pipeline safety violations are among the lowest in the nation, according to a state performance audit of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio.

The state could lose regulatory autonomy over gas pipeline safety if the Ohio General Assembly fails to increase the penalties soon, Ohio Auditor Keith Faber’s office said. 

Under Ohio law, PUCO can impose a maximum penalty of $100,000 for each day of each violation of noncompliance — up to a maximum aggregate forfeiture of $1 million for any related series of violations. Those are currently the minimum amounts required by federal law. 

State lawmakers haven’t updated the daily maximum violation amount since 2012, and they haven’t revised the aggregate maximum forfeiture amount since 2005. 

The current federal maximum civil penalty for pipeline safety violations is $272,926 for each violation for each day the violation continues. The federal maximum penalty for a related series of violations is $2,729,245. 

The U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration regularly revises the penalties based on the consumer price index, and the federal daily and maximum penalty amounts have increased every year since the law was enacted in 2015. 

Auditors were able to find information on gas pipeline safety violation penalties for 40 states, and 24 of them had amounts lower than the federal maximum. However, most of those states have amounts that are above the federal minimum — the average being $1.6 million for the maximum aggregate penalty.

Fifteen states have the same maximum amounts as the federal government, while Massachusetts has an aggregate maximum forfeiture amount of $10 million.

Mr. Faber’s office suggested the following options to the state legislature:

● Ensure that Ohio’s pipeline safety maximum forfeiture amounts automatically update in accordance with federal regulations.

● Increase the maximum forfeiture amounts to at least the peer state average.

● Have the fines tied to an inflationary measure, such as the consumer price index. 

PUCO Chairman Jenifer French said these penalty amounts have been an area of increasing concern in recent years.

“Your team did an excellent job of examining how Ohio compares with its peers and analyzing the potential impact on federal funding,” Ms. French said.

“This funding supports the important work of our Facility and Operations Field Division in inspecting natural gas pipelines and ensuring compliance with federal safety regulations,” she continued. “We support further study of the issue and the consideration of an increase of these maximums.”

State Sen. Paula Hicks-Hudson (D., Toledo) said she wasn’t surprised that Ohio’s penalties are among the lowest in the nation.

“I’ve always thought that Ohio has been very lenient to the utility companies,” Ms. Hicks-Hudson said. “I do think it’s a wakeup call for us to be a little bit more proactive.” 

Ms. Hicks-Hudson said she initially thought that automatically updating Ohio’s amounts in accordance with federal regulations was the best route, but she wants to study the issue further.

“I do think that we need to do something to make sure that we don’t put ourselves in a worse predicament,” she said. 

Mike Chadsey, spokesman for the Ohio Oil and Gas Association, said the organization is reviewing the audit.

“Safety remains our industry’s first priority,” Mr. Chadsey said.

“It is important to note that Ohio's PUCO remains in compliance with federal pipeline safety requirements,” he continued. “We will continue working with regulators to ensure Ohio’s pipeline safety program remains strong and effective.”

Other findings

The performance audit also found that PUCO is not fully gathering data on its operations or using the data it does collect to benefit consumers. Additionally, auditors found that PUCO does not have formal plans in place related to strategy, finance, or staffing.

“PUCO is making decisions each and every day that affect the pocketbooks of Ohioans,” Mr. Faber said. “There’s too much at stake for the commission to disregard the analytical tools that are readily available to it.”

State auditors recommend that PUCO expand and make better use of the data it collects.

“Once PUCO has implemented an effective data collection and monitoring system, the information could be leveraged to better inform a formal strategic plan and to develop specific staffing plans across PUCO’s various functions that are based on established, data-driven workload metrics,” the audit says.

Ms. Hicks-Hudson said she was shocked that the commission wasn’t already performing these functions.

“It is unbelievable,” she said. “PUCO definitely needs to do better.” 

Ms. Hicks-Hudson said she appreciated state auditors’ recommendations, noting that she will be working on legislation to address some of the issues in the report.

State Rep. Roy Klopfenstein (R., Haviland) said the audit is just one example of the legislature’s work on energy reform.

“Through House Bill 15 and the state operating budget, we have established several requirements of the PUCO — including this audit — to maintain transparency and accountability,” Mr. Klopfenstein said. 

State Rep. Adam Holmes (R., Nashport) said he appreciates the work of Mr. Faber’s office.

“Ohio is on the rise, and the best way we can support Ohioans and the businesses settling here is by setting the bar for fair, safe, reliable utility services during this rapidly changing market environment,” Mr. Holmes said. 

Price of electricity

The audit found the average price of electricity in Ohio has increased from approximately 6.6 cents per kilowatt-hour in 2001 to approximately 14.3 cents per kilowatt-hour to date in 2026 — a 3 percent annual increase. 

More recently, the average price has increased from 10.6 cents per kilowatt-hour in 2022 to 14.3 cents in 2026 — a 6 percent annual increase.

“This audit shows the consequences of the anti-competitive GOP policies that Statehouse Democrats have been fighting against for years,” state Sen. Kent Smith (D., Euclid) said. “While Ohioans struggle to afford their skyrocketing utility bills, those Republican policies have stifled renewable energy development in our state at a time when demand is at an all-time high.”

OKOLONA, Ohio — When a new bridge and interchange at Henry County Road 17D opens on U.S. 24, a decades-old local desire will be fulfilled.

“My only regret is that this was not done with the original project,” state Rep. Jim Hoops (R., Napoleon) said Thursday afternoon during a ceremonial ribbon-cutting on the bridge.

The “original project” was U.S. 24’s widening from two lanes to four between Napoleon and Defiance, completed in the late 2000s as part of a broader project to convert U.S. 24 into an expressway between the beltways around Toledo and Fort Wayne.

But equally important to the Ohio Department of Transportation is a closing scheduled a week from now, when the last full crossroad on U.S. 24 east of Defiance will be eliminated.

“We’re buttoning up this entire corridor and closing off the at-grade intersections where there have been serious crashes and some fatalities,” Rob McColley, ODOT’s deputy director for its Bowling Green district office.

U.S. 24 at Road 17D has heavy truck traffic exceeding that of I-75 south of Lima, Mr. McColley said. And since 2011, he said, the section between Napoleon and Defiance has had 170 crashes, including 73 with serious injuries and nine fatalities.

Many of those crashes, he said, occurred at intersections.

Mr. Hoops, meanwhile, said projects like the interchange are why Ohio’s motor fuels tax remains important even as skyrocketing prices for both gasoline and diesel fuel have pinched household and business budgets alike.

“Because of the gas tax, which I call a gas user fee, we can pay to make sure we have good roads and bridges,” Mr. Hoops said.

“Can you imagine a combine, or a tractor with two wagons, getting across here?” he added while gesturing toward a line of traffic filing through the U.S. 24 work zone during the ceremony.

The E.S. Wagner Co., of Oregon, will be paid about $13 million for the interchange, including an initial bid price of $12.3 million and subsequent change orders.

That and the project’s pre-construction costs are funded by a $16 million Connect 4 Ohio grant — general-fund money allocated to rural transportation projects — and $1.8 million in ODOT money assigned to major projects.

Mr. McColley noted the Connect 4 Ohio grant allowed a $1 million contribution from Henry County to be returned for the county’s use on other projects.

State officials’ goal Thursday was to open the new bridge and ramps at Road 17D on Friday. But they said dry enough weather to apply final pavement stripes and markings will be needed for that to happen on time.

Intersection closing

More definite is ODOT’s plan to close the intersection a mile or so to the east at Henry County Road 17, which since May, 2025, has been the detour route for traffic that normally uses Road 17D.

Road 17 is scheduled to close Sept. 25. In the other direction, the Banner School Road intersection — partially closed since construction began last year — will be cut off Monday, ODOT officials said.

Closing Road 17 will leave no way for local traffic to get across U.S. 24 between U.S. 6 and Road 17D, since ODOT previously closed intersections at County Road P and Napoleon Township Road 16.

The prospect of losing her nearby access to U.S. 24 didn’t bother Road 17 resident Shirley Houston on Thursday. She said she usually takes back roads into Napoleon anyway, because they’re more scenic and “the kids like to look at the cows.”

“All these folks right here won’t be coming by me,” she said, motioning toward cars that will vanish from Road 17 once it becomes a dead end.

Connector road

As part of the interchange project, a road connecting Roads P and 16 was built along U.S. 24’s south side so residents of those roads would have a second way out if either of two nearby railroad crossings is blocked.

“This is a day that we’ve long waited for,” Henry County Engineer Tim Schumm said Thursday.

His office built the connector road up to the roadbed level, after which a Wagner crew paved it.

Another project, completed last year, added an overpass at Independence Road near Jewell in neighboring Defiance County, converted one side each of nearby Jewell and Flory roads to right-in, right-out ramps, and closed several other crossroads.

An ODOT feasibility study that recommended both the Independence Road and Road 17D bridges also suggested building a bridge at Road P to provide local access.

Mr. McColley said ODOT obtained right-of-way necessary for a Road P bridge when it widened U.S. 24 two decades ago, but a recent federal grant application to help pay for it was denied and for now it’s unfunded.

Federal lawmakers are pursuing the first major legislation aimed at data center costs, though some question whether the proposal goes far enough.

The U.S. House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly on Wednesday to approve the Ratepayer Protection Act. The bill would require state public utility commissions to consider, but not mandate, a strategy aimed at making data centers pay for energy infrastructure costs associated with their developments.

The bill passed the House 417-3, with U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D., Toledo) joining the overwhelming majority in support. The vote marked Ms. Kaptur’s return to Washington this week following an August car accident that sent the congressman to the hospital with a leg injury.

An attempt to advance the Senate version by unanimous consent was blocked Thursday.

U.S. Sen. Jon Husted (R., Ohio) brought his bill to the Senate floor on Thursday, seeking passage by unanimous consent, meaning it would have passed unless another senator objected.

U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D., N.M.) did object to Mr. Husted’s bill, arguing the Ratepayer Protection Act falls short.

In seeking unanimous consent, Mr. Husted encouraged his colleagues to support the bill, saying companies creating new demands for electricity should pay the associated costs.

“Working families, small businesses, and senior citizens should not open up their electric bills and discover they are paying for the power infrastructure needed by some large tech company in the world or in their neighborhood,” Mr. Husted said.

“If you create the cost, you should pay the cost,” he later added.

Mr. Heinrich said he agreed with Mr. Husted that data centers can lead to higher costs for families but felt the bill falls short.

“When I open my mail and unfold my electricity bill and read how much I owe for the month, it doesn’t say that I may pay that amount,” Mr. Heinrich said. “It doesn’t say that I should pay that amount. It’s not optional. Just like every other bill-paying American family out there, I open that bill, and I have to pay it. The same needs to be true for AI data centers.”

Mr. Husted is running to hold his seat in the Senate against former Democratic U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown in a competitive race where data centers have become a key issue.

Mr. Brown has been a staunch critic of data center developments, saying big corporations are treating Ohio’s electric grid “like a game” and labeling his opponent “the face of data centers in Ohio.”

Although the effort to pass the bill by unanimous consent was blocked in the Senate on Thursday, it received bipartisan support in the House on Wednesday.

U.S. Rep. Bob Latta (R., Bowling Green) celebrated the bill’s passage in the House, calling it a “significant step forward in protecting American families from rising costs associated with data center development.”

“Across the country, communities are seeing proposals for new data centers that will bring valuable economic growth, but also raise important questions about how these facilities will affect local electric grids and the nearby communities,” Mr. Latta said. “The Ratepayer Protection Act ensures states can hold data centers responsible for their own energy costs, and hardworking American families aren’t on the hook for the bill.”

U.S. Rep. Tim Walberg (R., Tipton) also cheered on the passage of the bill, urging the Senate to pass what he calls “common-sense legislation.”

“Michigan families, farmers, and small businesses should not be forced to foot the bill for growing energy demands from data centers,” Mr. Walberg said. “I was proud to support the bipartisan Ratepayer Protection Act to ensure that the companies building data centers are the ones paying for the electricity needed to power them, instead of hardworking American families.”

Ms. Kaptur called the legislation a first step toward addressing the effect of data centers on electricity costs.

“I was happy to see the House finally move forward with legislation to address real concerns of our constituents around data centers and energy demands they place on our fragile electric grid,” Ms. Kaptur said. “The Ratepayer Protection Act is a strong first step that reinforces the authority of State regulators like PUCO to look out for ratepayers.”

Ms. Kaptur said the bill is not a full solution, and she looks forward to working toward additional utility regulation in November.

Following the August accident, Ms. Kaptur was transferred to the Rehabilitation Hospital of Northwest Ohio to build up strength before returning to Washington this week.

In March, seven major technology companies signed President Trump’s Ratepayer Protection Pledge, voluntarily committing to cover energy and infrastructure costs associated with their new data centers rather than shifting those costs to consumers.

With Election Day less than two months away, local and state election officials are increasing their calls to sign up poll workers. 

“We have to get 1,000 to 1,500 poll workers,” said Fritz Schoen, Lucas County Board of Elections chairman.

“It has been a real stretch this year to get poll workers. It is a public service. You volunteer, but you get a bonus and you’ll be paid for it. It comes in late November, early December just in time for your Christmas list,” he said. 

Mr. Schoen was speaking Thursday at a news conference in the Lucas County Board of Elections warehouse, alongside board director LaVera Scott, Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, and a legion of voting machines waiting to be tested before they get spread around the county’s numerous voting locations.  

Mr. LaRose said getting Election Day running requires an “army” with Democrats and Republicans working together. 

“It takes 40,000 of our fellow Ohioans to run Election Day,” Mr. LaRose said, referring to the entire state.

“Sometimes we take it for granted because we show up at our polling location. We are greeted by a couple of our neighbors. We get our ballot, we walk out with our ‘I Voted’ sticker, and maybe just see those results sort of scroll across the bottom of the screen on our favorite television station that night,” he said. “They don’t see all the hard work that goes behind the scenes.”

The secretary of state emphasized the security and accuracy measures the state and Lucas County now goes through in each election cycle. That includes testing the voting machines, and the hand-counted post-election audit conducted three weeks after election night to ensure officials and machines got it right. This is in addition to maintenance of voter rolls to purge people who have died and ID checks at state polling places. 

Mr. LaRose also cautioned members of the public to cut through the noise, and whatever robocalls and texts or news on social media they might be receiving. 

“Here’s the bottom line ... go to the trusted source,” Mr. LaRose said.

“Don’t just go to some link that’s texted to you or whatever else. Go to the ‘.gov’ website, voteohio.gov, or your country board of elections website,” he said. “Look for that official government website that is the place to get registered to vote, print off your absentee ballot request form, to get trustworthy information. Unfortunately a lot of dubious information gets spread during election season.” 

Gathering poll workers is a concern in every election cycle in Lucas County, Ms. Scott said. 

The hope is to hire 115 percent of the work force required to run the election, just in case reserves are needed, she said. The reserve is because there are always people who come to training and then aren’t able to fulfill their obligation on Election Day. 

“Has it been to the point where we can’t open polling locations? No,” Ms. Scott said. “But we are always concerned ... What we do here is that for our ones that are on standby, we actually have them report [to the Lucas County Board of Elections offices] in the morning.” 

Those on standby get a stipend for showing up.

The total pay for a volunteer usually adds up to $208 when considering $25 for initial training, $50 for additional training the night before the election, and $133 for actually working on Election Day, Ms. Scott said. 

“The state limits what we pay for being a poll worker,” Mr. Schoen said. “We supplement it by the training and try to bring it up as much as we can.”  

Betty Felton and Lynda Easley, two longtime poll workers who have transitioned to roles training poll workers, attended the news conference as well. 

Ms. Felton, a Toledo resident, said she started working the polls locally in 1968. 

“There has been many changes in our process,” Ms. Felton said. “It is more secure now. We used to have to take this big roll of paper off the machine and put it in and make sure everything stayed that way. There really wasn’t tons of what we have now on technology.” 

The poll worker said her love of the process has kept her involved all these years later. 

“I learn, also, all the time,” Ms. Felton said. “We also encourage them to enjoy their day.” 

The deadline to register to vote is Oct. 5. Early in-person voting starts Oct. 6. Election Day is Nov. 3.

Thirty-five University of Toledo medical students got a firsthand look at western Lake Erie’s algal bloom near its seasonal peak during a chartered cruise aboard the Glass City Pearl.

More than a dozen researchers, scientists, and other professionals joined them, bringing the group’s total to about 50.

Jeana Schafer, a 24-year-old second-year med student, summed up Wednesday’s excursion by recognizing it was an opportunity for future medical professionals to see the source of a potential health threat in real life.

Too often, she said, medical students are immersed in textbooks and scientific literature, learning how to treat problems they haven’t actually seen out in the environment.

“I think this is spectacular,” Ms. Schafer said. “Look, we talk a lot about [health] impact in medical school, but we don’t get to see the source upfront.”

BOWLING GREEN — The city of Bowling Green’s Water Distribution Division began flushing and testing fire hydrants Wednesday, the city said. 

Water crews began in the fourth ward and will continue in the first, third, and second wards. The work will be conducted from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, the city said. 

Fire hydrants are flushed annually to ensure they operate properly during emergencies and to clear any water line buildup. People may experience discolored water and are encouraged to check their cold water supply before use, the city said. 

Discoloration is temporary and water quality will return to normal once the flushing process is complete, officials said. If discoloration occurs, briefly flush the cold water line until it clears. It’s not harmful to drink but can stain light-colored clothes laundered in it. 

Residents experiencing problems may pick up laundry rust remover from the Water Distribution office at 324 N. Maple St., the city said. 

The city said the process will take several weeks. 

For more information, go to bgohio.gov or call the Water Distribution Division at 419-354-6277.

Births

Mercy Health

St. Vincent Medical Center

Kaitlin and Austin Zajac, of Toledo, boy, Sept. 2.

Kaylee and Kalub Sharp, of Toledo, boy, Sept. 10.

Katelyn and James Heilman, of Petersburg, Mich., girl, Sept. 12.

Leah McCloud and Alexander Theiss, of Sylvania, boy, Sept. 12.

Katlyn Schneider, of Toledo, girl, Sept. 13.

Marriage licenses

Lucas County

Sept. 14, 2026

Banty Hill and Shianna LaBell, both of Michigan.

Austin Reyome and Britney Carr, both of Ohio.

Kyle Kozlaker and Brooke Wilson, both of Ohio.

Frederick Smith and Lakechia Ratcliffe, both of Ohio.

Broc Roberts and Gabrielle Garza, both of Ohio.

Jacob Timm and Shelby Mathews, both of Michigan.

Christopher Dyer and Emily Pooley, both of Ohio.

Jose Lozano and Leitha Loppe, both of Ohio.

Brett Rau and Kennedy Clement, both of Ohio.

Joshua Lehnhardt and Corinne Moore, both of Ohio.

Scott Sparrow Foreman II and Tessa Shinavar, both of Ohio.

Ryan King and Megan Suehrstedt, both of Ohio.

Trentin Jones and Keegan Murphy, both of Ohio.

James Kaminski and Jessica Bland, both of Ohio.

Terri Bailey and Jennifer Flores, both of Michigan.

Cameron Brady and Sydney Peppers, both of Ohio.

Sept. 15, 2026

Gasper Cedillo Raymundo and Angelica De Paz Velazco, both of Ohio.

Ethan Becerra and Laura Elizondo, both of Ohio.

Hamzah Syed and Chrisann Hernandez, both of Michigan.

James Fixon Owoo and Alisia Tolbert, both of Michigan.

A free concert will preface Friday’s Roche de Boeuf Festival in Waterville. 

Click on icons in the map to find details of reported crimes. For a full list of all reported crimes in Toledo this week, consult the table below.

Beekeeper Roger Myers will place a queen honeybee on his chin Saturday, attracting thousands of bees to form a living beard on his face.

It’s a crowd favorite, said Mr. Myers, who will create the bee beard at the fourth annual Oregon Honey Fest.

He will bring his bees from his Swanton business, Myers Honey, where he manages 100 beehives.

“We do everything inside a screened-in tent so everyone can watch. We have a queen in a little cage. We tie her around my chin. When we dump bees off a piece of cardboard I am holding under my chin, the bees will be attracted to their queen. Hopefully, it forms a beard. Sometimes it’s a goatee,” Mr. Myers said of the 30-minute demonstration that is weather-dependent.  

If it rains, the bee beard will be scratched, as the bees can become agitated, he said.

The Maumee Valley Beekeepers Association is partnering with the city of Oregon and the Eastern Maumee Bay Chamber of Commerce for the event. 

“Once a couple of them sting you, they give off a scent, which can trigger more stinging,” said Mr. Myers, who has been stung just once before at the honey fest.

“I was stung once the first year when I was getting the bees off of me. I’ve been stung thousands of times as a beekeeper for over 30 years. It’s not a big deal to me,” Mr. Myers said.

Beekeepers will be selling a variety of honey, as well as beeswax and propolis, at the event, said Tim Borton, Oregon’s parks and recreation commissioner.

There will be local food trucks, honey and craft vendors, apparel sales, cornhole, and kids’ activities featuring free bounce houses, inflatable slides, and face painting, Mr. Borton said. 

“It’s a celebration of the honeybee and the environmental impact they have from a pollination standpoint,”  Mr. Borton said. “Without them, there wouldn’t be fruit trees and a lot of your vegetables. They fertilize and pollinate the plants so they can grow.”

Mr. Myers agrees.

“We’d get tired of eating corn, wheat, beans, rice, and potatoes because that’s what would be left without bees,” Mr. Myers said.

Honeybees have gotten a bad rap over the years, Mr. Borton said. 

“They are pretty mild if you leave them alone. They get lumped in with wasps, hornets, and yellowjackets, which have a tendency to get aggressive,” Mr. Borton said.

The honey fest will also hold various competitions, including a photo contest, honey baking contest, pumpkin pie eating contest, cutest Ba “Bee” contest, and best bumble dog contest, with winners announced throughout the day.

Live music will be provided by Ice Cream Militia and Rockwood. Food trucks will include Los Agaves, Schlotzsky’s Deli, and Quinn’s Concessions. 

Vendors will be selling a variety of honey at the event. 

“Every flower makes a different flavor and color of honey,” Mr. Myers said. “One beehive might go to the apples, while another goes to dandelions. Clover is the dominant honey producer in the summer.”

There is also honey that is infused with flavors like vanilla, cinnamon, hot peppers, and bourbon, he said.

Most of the beekeepers at the event will offer free samples of their honey, said Mr. Borton.

Last year, about 2,000 people attended, he said. He expects about 2,500 to show up this year. 

“It’s fun learning about bees and honey,” said Oregon Mayor Steven Salander. “It’s surprising how many different varieties of honey that exist.”

The hours are from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Oregon recreation soccer fields at 5401 Starr Ave. Ext. Find more info at oregonohio.org/honey-fest-4.

COLUMBUS — While the national conversation on artificial intelligence has become increasingly dark recently, a new educational AI hologram could be a bright spot for the technology.

Gov. Mike DeWine joined special education leaders at LifeTown Columbus on Tuesday to unveil “Super Buddy,” a three-dimensional AI figure that speaks with students out loud. The program inverts the usual arrangement of a classroom, allowing the students to teach the hologram about what they just learned at one of the locations in LifeTown’s simulated village. 

“For 18 years we have watched children come into LifeTown and practice being independent — opening an account, filling a prescription, buying groceries,” said Rabbi Areyah Kaltmann, executive director of LifeTown Columbus. 

“What Super Buddy adds is the moment right after, when a child turns around and explains it to someone else,” Rabbi Kaltmann said. “By asking children to explain what they have learned in their own words, Super Buddy reinforces learning while empowering them with an important message: Your voice matters, your knowledge has value, and you have something to teach.” 

The process helps children build self-worth, confidence, and resilience, the rabbi said. 

“We hear a lot of talk now about AI, and it’s clear from looking at and learning about Super Buddy ... that this is a positive use of AI,” Mr. DeWine said during his remarks. “It’s a use that’s controlled by humans setting clear boundaries. This is the way that it’s supposed to be done.”

The governor further discussed his remarks with reporters after the event.

“The last few days we’ve had nothing but comments about whether AI is safe and concerns expressed about AI,” Mr. DeWine said.

“I think that’s appropriate. We should be looking at all aspects of this,” he said. “What I frankly checked out first was to make sure this has guardrails and that humans are making decisions. I’ve been assured by people who understand this that that’s true of this.” 

Mr. DeWine said the AI Super Buddy can help all kinds of children learn in a different way, and it can improve students’ mental health.

“It’s interesting to me that they have basically reversed how you would normally teach kids,” the governor said. “What the rabbi has come up with is a full understanding of the old saying, ‘If you really want to understand a subject, you need to be the teacher of the subject.’”

On the regulation of AI more generally, Mr. DeWine said there’s only so much an individual state can do.

“This really needs to come from the federal government. We need to have uniformity — not just in this country, we need to have uniformity in the world,” he said.

“We need to control AI. Coming up with the best way to do it is important, and it’s in every country’s interest,” Mr. DeWine said. “We also have to continue to develop. We know what the Chinese are doing. The balance there is vitally important.” 

Super Buddy

Super Buddy is now in a pilot phase at LifeTown, a simulated village where special needs children gain and practice life, social and pre-employment skills. The village includes a bank, a barber shop and other stores students will eventually encounter in life. Roughly 70 students a day from central Ohio school districts work with the hologram as part of their visit.

Students from Whitehall schools were among the first to interact with the Super Buddy, which also goes by the name “Mia.”

“Our fifth graders were among the first to try this, and what struck our teachers was that students kept going after the work was finished,” said Sharee Wells, superintendent of Whitehall schools.

“Engagement is the hardest thing to manufacture in a lesson, and these students chose more of it,” she said. “That tells us something about what our kids will do when they are treated as capable.”

Super Buddy was developed by LifeTown’s team, and it was tested by researchers at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.

Research findings 

Researchers with Miami University’s Discovery Center for Evaluation, Research, and Professional Learning conducted a randomized controlled study of the program in May.

Findings included the following:

● Students who worked with Mia showed significantly higher cognitive engagement than students who completed a worksheet. Miami researchers described the result as a “medium-to-large” educational effect for a single, brief session.

● 71 percent of students who worked with Mia volunteered to complete additional, entirely optional medicine safety scenarios after the required work was done, compared with 30 percent of students in the worksheet group. 

“Findings suggest that dialogue-based Al supports may address an important limitation of traditional prevention instruction by moving students beyond passive exposure toward active knowledge construction, reflection, and application,” said Yue Li, associate director of Miami’s Discovery Center and leader of the study.

Those, she said, are “learning processes that are widely recognized as essential for meaningful conceptual understanding and long-term transfer.” 

AYERSVILLE, Ohio — A historic Black cemetery that was forgotten over time is making a comeback.

Archibald Worthington Cemetery in rural Defiance County’s Highland Township, north of Bowman Road, is believed to have held the remains of as many as 50 people years ago.

But over time, grave markers faded from sight. What few tombstones existed were moved to the edge of the property.

The little family cemetery, which is less than an acre in size, blended in so much with an adjoining 50-acre soybean field that people didn’t know where one began and the other ended, if they knew there had been a cemetery there at all, according to local historian Sarah Marshall.

The bodies buried in Worthington Cemetery were believed to come primarily from three rural Defiance County families and some friends between 1855 and 1890, she said.

On Saturday, starting at 1 p.m., a local citizens group called Friends of Worthington Cemetery is hosting an event for people interested in the site’s history and to “help envision a new sacred space,” according to a news release.

The Friends have been working with several other groups, including the Defiance Public Library, Defiance College, and the Ayersville Water and Sewer District, on a plan to rededicate the site.

The event is open to the public, and those who attend are asked to meet at the state historical marker on the north side of Bowman Road between State Rt. 15 and Dohoney Road.

Organizers want input from the public on what the next respectful steps should be at the historic cemetery.

In 2024, the cemetery was recognized by an Ohio Historical Marker erected by the library, the college, Defiance County Board Of Commissioners; and the Ohio History Connection.

“Worthington’s Cemetery: Known But to God,” it reads.

The scam that wasn’t

Kimberly Whickum-Greene, of Toledo, Mr. Worthington’s great-great-great granddaughter, was there two years ago when the marker was erected.

“When I think of the joy, excitement, and goose bumps I got the morning of the historic marker dedication, I am reminded of Alex Haley’s quote ‘In all of us there is a hunger marrow-deep, to know our heritage, to know who we are and where we came from,’” she said. 

Ms. Whickum-Greene said she “really thought it was a scam” when she was contacted out of the blue by the Friends of Worthington Cemetery two years ago, but soon realized it wasn’t.

“Discovery of the cemetery had me full of emotions,” she said, adding how impressed she was that strangers would take the time and energy to find her and other descendants.

“The historical marker for the cemetery is something that can be admired by the whole family, our community and friends, for many years to come,” Ms. Whickum-Greene said. “Also, we have made lifelong friendships and memories through the Archibald Worthington Cemetery discovery.”

Archibald Worthington was a freed slave from Virginia and a Civil War veteran who became a prominent farmer in Highland Township. 

He set aside an acre of his crop field as a cemetery.

Jay Budde, Friends of Worthington Cemetery president, said he was inspired to help preserve the cemetery because “respect is not a thing that’s common in our country these days.”

“The folks buried in Worthington cemetery have not been respected, and I would like to help their community and their neighbors respect them,” Mr. Budde said. “Basically, it’s the right thing to do. Cemeteries shouldn’t be lost.”

Eleven bales of straw will mark the known gravesites at Saturday’s event, he said.

Mr. Budde said the story of Worthington Cemetery is “a remarkable story and it hooked me.”

Same goes for Ms. Marshall, a local history specialist for the Defiance Public Library System.

She said she learned about Worthington Cemetery while researching Riverside Cemetery in 2021.

Human remains

Worthington Cemetery’s only known records were written by the New Deal-era Works Progress Administration in the 1930s.

KYK9 Search Dogs of Kentucky was hired to see if there were human remains at the site. There were.

Results of ground-penetrating radar surveys provided more confirmation, Ms. Marshall said.

“The event is for us to determine how we want the cemetery to look now,” she said.

Mr. Budde said the end product probably won’t look like a traditional cemetery, because it never was one.

But he said it’s important not to just erect a historical marker and move on.

“We’re asking the community and living descendants,” Mr. Budde said. “I got interested because there’s sort of a justice issue when a cemetery gets erased.”

Toledo residents have privacy and transparency concerns about the use, access, and sharing of information through the city’s Flock Safety cameras.

“OK, you can block anybody if they’re on the [Flock camera] network, but what the [expletive] are they doing with that information?” Marci Galambos, a city resident for 53 years, asked Wednesday. “And why are they pointed at our kids’ schools, taking pictures of our children, and why are they pointed at our parks?” 

Ms. Galambos spoke during a town hall meetingon the cameras held by Toledo Councilman Erin Kramer. About 25 people attended the meeting at Heatherdowns Branch Library in South Toledo.

A few other attendees, including Lynn Adkins, a longtime city resident, and CK Kramer, an 18-year-old Owens Community College student who is Ms. Kramer’s son, expressed similar concerns.

Councilman Kramer said she also is wary of Flock cameras, noting that she voted against their use in the city.

Councilman Adam Martinez, who represents District 2, which covers the city’s southwest and southern portions, also attended the session.

He spoke mainly about the Flock system’s perceived value as a crime-fighting tool shared by communities across the nation for mutual benefit and about proposed limitations of their use.

“Adam [Martinez] and I have, you know, our differences on those Flock cameras,” Ms. Kramer said. “And I have continually voted no because I do worry about the risk of having cameras everywhere.” 

She then said council is aware of residential concerns about the city’s Flock cameras and is requesting an independent audit of them to ensure the technology is being used appropriately.

She also invited those concerned about the Flock system to attend the Thursday meeting of the council’s Public Safety & Criminal Justice Reform Committee that has a Flock system discussion on the agenda.

The Wednesday meeting was the first in a six-event series of free, public “Community Conversations with Councilwoman Erin Kramer” scheduled through October.

The remaining 60-minute events, all starting at 6 p.m., will be:

● Sept. 24, Sanger Branch Library, 3030 Central Ave.

● Sept. 29, Locke Branch Library, 703 Miami St.

● Oct. 8, Mott Branch Library, 1010 Dorr St.

● Oct. 14, Kent Branch Library, 3101 Collingwood Blvd.

● Oct. 22, Reynolds Corner Branch Library, 4833 Dorr St.

The meetings don’t have a fixed agenda and serve to help her “engage directly” with her constituents throughout the city, Ms. Kramer, an at-large councilman since January, said before the event.

The audit legislation she referenced Wednesday was formally introduced Tuesday by Council President Vanice Williams and Councilman John Hobbs III, following an 8-4 vote in June to extend the Flock contract for one year. 

The proposed audit comes as many municipalities in Ohio and across the country are reviewing the technology amid residents' privacy concerns.

Council members could vote to approve the audit as early as Sept. 22.

The National Transportation Safety Board recommended Wednesday that the Ohio Turnpike shut down cash payment lanes at its toll plazas, including one near Swanton that was the scene of a fatal collision two years ago that killed two people.

“This crash shows the deadly safety consequences of mixing high-speed electronic tolling with low-speed manual tolling lanes,” said Jennifer Homendy, the NTSB’s chairman.

“We encourage the Ohio Turnpike and Infrastructure Commission to implement fully high-speed electronic tolling, as states like Pennsylvania and Illinois have, and permanently close the low-speed lanes to make the roadway safer for everyone,” she said.

The safety board’s announcement of its findings did not mention that two additional people were killed in crashes that occurred in backups that developed after the initial crash Aug. 15, 2024, on the turnpike’s eastbound side. A total of 11 others were injured in the three collisions.

The initial crash could have been avoided if the turnpike used fully electronic tolling and provided clearer information about toll payment options, the NTSB statement said.

In response, the turnpike commission issued a statement citing the toll road’s overall safety record as well as acknowledging the report.

“We continue to extend our sympathies to the victims and families affected by the crashes,” the statement said. “We thank the NTSB for its thorough and professional investigation over the past two years. We will carefully review its recommendations. We are committed to protecting every traveler who uses the Ohio Turnpike.”

Asked specifically about going with full electronic tolling, spokesman Brian Newbacher said that will be among the recommendations the commission will “carefully review.”

The turnpike’s statement noted its fatal crash rate of 0.4 crashes per 100 million vehicle-miles traveled last year, compared to a 1.1 rate nationwide, as reported by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

2024 crash and others

An SUV occupied by a family from Minnesota was traveling eastbound in the turnpike’s left lane when it suddenly slowed and veered into the path of a tractor-trailer in an attempt to enter the manual toll lanes that diverge from the right lane.

The truck struck the SUV from behind and overturned. Two people in the SUV were killed while two others in the SUV and the truck driver were seriously injured.

Part of the truck’s load of sulfonic acid also spilled, the NTSB noted, but no injuries occurred because of the chemical.

Along with recommending that the turnpike convert to fully electronic tolling, the NTSB recommended that the Federal Highway Administration adopt guidance on the safety benefits of fully electronic tolling.

Having high-speed lanes next to low-speed manual tolling lanes, even though the toll plaza itself was separated from the mainline by a barrier wall, “increased the risk of a severe crash by creating conditions that encourage last-minute sudden lane changes and large speed differences between vehicles,” the NTSB said.

The agency said video of the Swanton toll plaza over a three-week period showed 1,099 similar last-minute lane changes — an average of 52 per day — with vehicles illegally traveling through a marked-off area between the high-speed and low-speed tolling lanes.

New plazas opened

Ohio had opened new mainline toll plazas there and at three other locations about five months before the crash, all with the mainline lanes designated for electronic tolling and tollbooths off to the side for drivers paying with cash or credit cards.

Neighboring Pennsylvania briefly used similar plazas at several locations on its turnpike, but then removed them from use when it converted fully to electronic tolling.

Other states — including Illinois, New York, and Massachusetts — abolished tollbooths within the past decade. Drivers who do not have electronic toll tags compatible with the E-ZPass system are billed for their tolls based on photographs of their vehicles’ license plates. Indiana and West Virginia still allow cash payment on their toll roads, but do not have high-speed lanes for toll tag users.

Other recommendations

The NTSB investigation also found that emergency responders were delayed because they lacked direct access to the toll road. While this specific delay did not likely change crash victims’ outcomes, it does present risks for future crashes, the safety board said.

It recommended the turnpike commission “evaluate the need for additional emergency access points at toll plazas and construct them where appropriate.”

The safety board also repeated a 2014 recommendation that Ohio make seat belt use a primary traffic offense for which motorists can be pulled over.

Ohio is one of a handful of states that only allows police to cite seat belt violations if a vehicle has been stopped for a different reason.

Investigators determined that vehicle occupants in the crash could have avoided serious injury had they worn seat belts, the NTSB said.

One of two men charged with an incident last year in which lasers were pointed at an Ohio State Highway Patrol airplane received probation Monday after pleading guilty to a lower charge.

The other had been scheduled to appear Wednesday afternoon in Lucas County Common Pleas Court, but that proceeding was postponed two weeks because his lawyer was delayed elsewhere.

Terrell Taylor, 46, of the 5600 block of West Bancroft Street, received a stern admonition Monday from Judge Dean Mandros during his sentencing for fourth-degree disrupting public service, to which he had pleaded guilty Aug. 3.

The light beam from a laser expands as it travels, Judge Mandros said, and if it hits an aircraft’s windshield, the glass can “flood with light and the pilots are blinded.”

That, the judge said, is why interfering with an aircraft with a laser beam is a second-degree felony in Ohio, punishable by up to eight years in prison. Taylor instead received two years’ probation, with the first six months to be in work release from the Community Treatment Facility.

“This is dangerous conduct to the safety of others — it’s not a game,” the judge told Taylor.

Taylor’s laser-pointing episode was reported by the flight crew 15 minutes after an earlier, similar incident in which they observed a laser beam rising from a back yard along Yarmouth Avenue.

Donald Cox, 53, of the 1900 block of Yarmouth, was indicted for both the interfering with an aircraft charge and disrupting public service for that encounter.

Cox told police he thought the aircraft toward which he aimed his laser was a drone.

Vijay Puligandla, Taylor’s defense lawyer, said Taylor lost his job at Sterling Pipe & Tube, on Progress Avenue, because of the incident.

Having completed their second-shift work, Taylor and some coworkers were hanging out on a loading dock awaiting their 11 p.m. quit time and one of them handed him a laser pointer that he initially aimed at a passing train, Mr. Puligandla said.

Taylor and a coworker then aimed their lasers up in the sky, and that’s when the beams were picked up in the cockpit of a highway patrol plane that was helping Toledo police look for illegal dirt-bike riders on nearby private property, the lawyer said.

The plane’s crew reported the lasers to the police on the ground and they went to the plant, but by the time officers got to the loading dock, 11 p.m. had passed and the workers had left for home, Mr. Puligandla said.

Charges against the second man there with a laser were dropped, the lawyer told the court.

Taylor apologized to the judge.

“It was stupid, definitely,” he said. “I am suffering from it.”

Judge Mandros placed a 12-month prison sentence in reserve for Taylor if he violates his probation terms.

He could have faced up to eight years in prison had he been convicted for interfering with an aircraft.

A judge and a prosecutor both bemoaned young people’s access to guns as the root cause of an 18-year-old woman’s fatal shooting June 26, for which her boyfriend was sentenced Wednesday in juvenile court.

“That’s what caused this tragic accident: both of them had access to guns,” Judge Amy Stoner said before pronouncing Kaveion Griffin’s placement in the Youth Treatment Facility for the accidental death of Terrianna Hood.

Griffin, 17, admitted Sept. 2 to third-degree reckless homicide for the shooting inside a house in the 300 block of Burger Street in East Toledo. He told detectives he believed he was locking the handgun that he’d just taken from Miss Hood when it instead fired, shooting her in the head.

“What happened here is guns. Guns are the scourge of our society” and have been particularly destructive to young people’s lives, Patricia Wardrop, chief of the Lucas County Prosecutor’s Office juvenile division, told the court.

“I do believe this was a terrible tragedy, a terrible accident,” Judge Stoner said before issuing the sentence.

Griffin’s placement in the treatment facility is for an indefinite time, depending on his progress toward completing its program.

The judge’s sentence included stayed terms in juvenile detention of six months for the homicide delinquency and a year for an attached gun specification, possibly extending to age 21, if he fails treatment.

“I wish this was all a dream and somebody could wake me,” Griffin, also known as Kaveion Turner, told the court.

He later addressed Miss Hood, saying, “If I could, I would trade places with you.”

In a brief statement, Patricia Jaso, Miss Hood’s grandmother, said no words could bring Miss Hood back.

“We’ll never get to see her smile, touch her, hug her, none of that,” she said.

“She deserved the opportunity to have a long and beautiful life,” Ms. Wardrop said.

The prosecutor then said she believed Griffin’s remorse was genuine and that if there were a way, he would do whatever necessary to bring Miss Hood back.

Defense lawyer Gretchen DeBacker said the couple were “together all the time” and had talked about marriage. Each was considered a member of the other’s family, she said.

Griffin is “well aware that the rest of his life will be to correct what happened here,” Ms. DeBacker said.

The handgun involved had come from Miss Hood’s household, the defense lawyer noted later. Judge Stoner ordered it to be destroyed.

The city of Toledo Prosecutor’s Office has launched its new dashboard highlighting the impact of its Domestic Violence Prosecution Unit.

The dashboard gives the public access to 90,000 criminal and traffic cases prosecuted in Toledo Municipal Court dating back to 2018 and allows the exploration of information by demographics, including gender, race, and age, as well as offense level and type, the prosecutor’s office said Wednesday.

The tool also provides information about the unit’s work, including convictions, how quickly cases are resolved, and service to victims of domestic violence.

“This data dashboard makes information about the work we do, the cases we handle, and the public we serve more transparent and understandable for all,” said Rebecca Facey, chief prosecutor for the city of Toledo. “We want the community to have access to this information and a better understanding of the work we do in the Prosecutor’s Office.”

The dashboard is now available at toledo.prosecutiondata.org.

It was developed in partnership with the Institute for State & Local Governance at the City University of New York and the Prosecutorial Performance Indicators team at the Loyola University Chicago Center for Criminal Justice Research, the city said.

Louisville Title is taking its commitment to the northwest Ohio community beyond the closing table this September, partnering with Connecting Kids to Meals to help provide meals for local children experiencing food insecurity.

Approximately 25 Louisville Title employees helped pack 750 meals on Wednesday for Connecting Kids to Meals in recognition of Hunger Action Month. Louisville Title is also donating $1,500 to support the meals being packed.

Click through the images above to view the full gallery.

Seniors attended the Area Office on Aging’s annual 60+ Safari at the Toledo Zoo on Wednesday.

The event featured local resources, live entertainment, and zoo activities.

Click through the images above to view the full gallery.